Choosing a Paint Roller

One of the best tools that you can get for doing any painting is a paint roller. They are great because they can apply so much paint in such a short period of time. Another benefit of paint rollers is that the paint goes on with little or no streaking, less mess, and in more interesting styles or textures. Unfortunately though, anyone that has ever strolled through a home improvement store can tell you about the large selection of painting tools out there. Using some simple guidelines, you can choose the correct roller for your next home decorating project.

• Surface Texture. The texture of the surface that you are going to paint plays a huge roll in what type of roller you need to select. If the surface is smooth, then you need to select a paint cover that has a short nap (length of fibers—the "plushy" surface that holds the paint) of between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. The reason for this is that a longer nap leaves a textured look that you may not want. For surfaces that are slightly rough, use a nap of medium length, 3/8 to 1/2 inch. These longer fibers are going to be able to apply the paint into the valleys of the rough surface. For the really rough surfaces, such as block, stucco and brick, you are going to want to use a long nap of 3/4 to 1-1/4 inch long.
• Fiber Material. Paint type interacts with fiber materials differently. If you are going to use an oil-based paint, then you need to use a natural fibered cover. Water based (or latex) paints should use a synthetic fiber cover. Basically, just remember that synthetic should go with natural, in other words opposites attract.
• Roll Cages. The roll cage is what holds the cover sleeve onto the roller. Since the cover sleeve is what holds the paint onto the roller, then you want something that is going to be strong enough to hold a sodden sponge in place. If the cover sleeve slips it is going to lead to streaking, which defeats one of the purposes of getting a roller to begin with.
• Cover Texture. Depending what you are wanting in the "look" for your decorating style, choose different styles of cover pads. There are different styles and textures available. Since most places where you purchase such pads should have examples of what the final result is going to look like, take a look at the final result and decide if it is what you want. This way you are not going to be upset by not getting the results that you want.